EDITORIAL
Backstage | Jimmy Dodd
Every leader occasionally needs a strategic nudge to ensure they are traveling in the right direction. This is a timely example of tugboat leadership in practice. Sometimes, we even need a deliberate collision to correct our course.
On March 26, 2024, at 1:28 a.m., the container ship Dali lost power and struck a pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse into Baltimore’s Patapsco River. Tragically, six maintenance crew members lost their lives. The collapse blocked access to the Port of Baltimore, impacting more than 8,000 jobs.
The following day, a reporter asked a critical question: “Why weren’t tugboats used to escort all ships through the harbor?” The response was sobering. While tugboats could have prevented the disaster, their consistent use was deemed cost-prohibitive.
I remember taking a leisurely ride on an evening water taxi though an Atlantic Ocean harbor with my wife. The taxi was a relatively inexpensive way to spend some extended time on the water. As we journeyed through the harbor, we watched with skepticism as a massive ship attempted to turn itself to neatly fit into its designated dock slip. And then, out of nowhere, a tugboat approached the stern of the ship while another approached the stern from the opposite side. As they neared the ship, they increased their speed. Wham! The lead tugboat hit the ship at full speed. It retreated and then repeatedly struck the ship five or six times before we began to see the result. Amazingly, the mammoth ship began to turn. After several minutes of consistent collisions, the ship was safely in dock. As the tugboat steamed to help another ship exiting the port, I was able to make out the name that adorned it’s back. Faithful. A tugboat called Faithful.
Experts said that even when a 900-foot cargo ship loses power, even a small number of tugboats would possess the necessary power to safely maneuver it out of the harbor. When the Dali lost power, it could have greatly benefited from a tugboat like Faithful.
As leaders, we need tugboats in our lives. We need colleagues, friends, bosses, mentors, teachers, coaches, counselors, spiritual guides and family members to help us when they see us drifting (a gentle nudge) or going the wrong direction (a significant push). We all need faithful friends in our lives to guide us through the challenging harbors of life. We were not created by the Lord to navigate life alone. We were created for community. Connection is our God-given DNA. We need one another.
Isolation is a leadership assassin. When leaders convince themselves that they no longer need voices in their lives to guide them through dangerous harbors, a catastrophe is inevitable.
Leaders need to appoint people to be tugboats in their life. Realizing that we all have blind spots, we need Nathans (see 2 Samuel 12) to courageously tell us, “Thou art the man!” Proverbs 27:6 reminds us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” We need faithful tugboats to guide us in our darkest hours, and to help us navigate life and leadership.